Belper Town joint-boss Ant Danylyk was left frustrated by his side’s lack of attacking prowess in last Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at home to Alvechurch.

It was the second time in two weeks the West Midlands side had won at the Marston’s Stadium, following an FA Trophy victory on October 7.

But having seen the Nailers score 11 times in the previous four games, Danylyk was surprised to see them fail to find the net on Saturday.

He said: “It was the worst we’d played for quite a while.

“We never really looked a threat going forward, in fact neither side did in difficult conditions.

“That’s why we were not only disappointed at not scoring but also with the two goals they scored, one of which came from a free-kick that we should have prevented being given in the first place, and the other from our own throw-in and giving away possession.

“We only had three or four shots on target but being at home, you’re looking to take the game to the opposition more and we didn’t do that.

“We’d scored well in recent games, albeit we’d had 5-5 and 4-4 draws in the previous fortnight which showed we’re conceding too many as well, but it was frustrating to see us not doing enough with or without the ball.”

The Nailers now sit 16th in what is once again a very tight Evo-Stik Division One South, and are now five games without a win in all competitions.

This weekend they travel to seventh-placed Stocksbridge Park Steels, the Yorkshire club currently posting the best scoring record in the division with 34 goals from their 14 games.

And Danylyk is keen to head north and stop the winless run.

He said: “Aside from Saturday, we’ve not been playing badly but could do with a win just to pick our confidence up a bit.

“It’s always tough at Stocksbridge and they’re clearly a threat going forward as their record suggests, but we’ve not been too shy in front of goal ourselves recently so we have a good chance.

“We shouldn’t have any injury worries and John Guy returns from suspension which is a big boost for us as he’s such a key player.

“It’s always a tight league, this one. It seems that even though we’re 16th, we’re only two or three wins away from a potential play-off spot and yet two or three defeats away from being in the relegation places.

“We want to be up there challenging for play-off places or better so putting a good run together would work wonders and I know we’re capable of doing that.”

Following the Stocksbridge game, Belper have a clear midweek before they travel to Corby Town on November 4.